1. The most important thing about buying a new
bike is to make sure it fits. The only way you'll know if the bike is right
for you is to size up the bike and make sure that the bike's geometry matches
your body's geometry. Ask questions and do some research.

2. If possible, try to find a shop that will
let you demo the bike on real dirt. Five minutes in a parking lot won't cut
it. You wouldn't buy a car without a real world test drive, and a bike should
be no different.

3. Don't belive the hype. Just because
your favorite rider or best friend rides a certain bike, that doesn't mean
that's the best one for you. Have an open mind and be realistic about your
needs and ability.

You can find a large number of cheap priced Chinese unknown branded carbon and aluminium handlebars on ebay. Are they safe? Do you know any that are safe? Thanks.

Safe is a relative term and the quality of unbranded things you find on ebay whether "Chinese" or not should always be questioned. It's a pretty important part of your bike, the one that keeps your teeth off of your stem, but it could very well be made in the same factory as a more expensive handlebar. It's impossible to tell without buying it so you need to ask yourself how much money you're willing to spend to find out if something is worth buying. If the price of that handlebar isn't too expensive to you and you don't mind a little danger in your life then go for it. Personally, I have a carbon handlebar from Easton I quite like and will probably try out one of the Chromag bars when I decide to switch bars. I like to know who is standing behind my parts when possible.

Don't you hate it when a sentence doesn't end the way you think it octopus?

the handle bar is pretty important, i don't think that i'd risk it for the price difference. a seat post is one thing, bottle cages, handle bar grips, etc... i always get my small accessories off ebay from hk for like 2 bucks or whatever, but when it comes to pedals, handle bars, stems, etc.... its just not worth the price difference, because they really aren't that much money to begin with.

Imagine a batch of carbon handlebars, made in your favorite contract factory, which are rejected by Reputable Handlebars, Inc., because they failed the quality inspection.

What happens to them?

Carbon fiber is slightly recyclable, but the most likely scenario is that the bars get shredded and the resulting shredded fiber is sold off and used in carbon fiber resin composites.

I really want to stress that most all of the carbon fiber parts and bikes come out of the same factory. Almost all bike frames come out of the exact same factory in china. Just because the handle bar doesn't have a brand on it doesn't mean that its not a quality handlebar, it just means that it doesn't have a brand.

i think someone should buy a cheap handle bar and bash it into a telephone pole for a while and tape that **** and post it on here and show everyone whether or not they're made of glass. thats the only way we'll really know.

been around a good while, know people with their forks and love them.. never an issue that I know of. Haven't tried them myself as I got a wicked deal on my Easton bars or else I would have ordered their "matrix" bars which are supposed to be a dual layer carbon and Alum.

Carbon fiber is slightly recyclable, but the most likely scenario is that the bars get shredded and the resulting shredded fiber is sold off and used in carbon fiber resin composites.

I really want to stress that most all of the carbon fiber parts and bikes come out of the same factory. Almost all bike frames come out of the exact same factory in china. Just because the handle bar doesn't have a brand on it doesn't mean that its not a quality handlebar, it just means that it doesn't have a brand.

I'm not buying it. My point is that a reputable seller has something to lose by selling crap. I have heard from many sources that the quality you get from a Chinese (or other) contract manufacturer is what you insist on and inspect for. If you don't inspect for quality, you get the dregs or whatever got produced that day. Sometimes that does not matter. Sometimes it does matter. If I asked a Asian manufacturer to make me some carbon bars, but as cheap as possible, what would I get?

Those fake Ritchey/Easton/FSA carbon bars that you find on Aliexpress are tempting,
The feedback from users is OK it means that they are still alive - at least for a few days afer receipt of goods!

My only concern is that -if I decide to buy the real thing, paying 3times the price or more- I may end up getting the same fake bar you were trying to avoid.
I bet many of the "brand new, stripped from new bike" handlebars you see on ebay are coming from China but it might be that some shops are selling those as well.

Imagine a batch of carbon handlebars, made in your favorite contract factory, which are rejected by Reputable Handlebars, Inc., because they failed the quality inspection.

What happens to them?

....and that's one of the reasons I don't trust unlabeled, off-brand Chinese products.

I'm ethnic Chinese (born and raised in Singapore, living in Arizona since 96) and I personally know how the bottom line drives Chinese businesses. That's the nature of how Chinese do business. There is a strong drive to cut corners and reduce costs in order to increase profit and they will do it at their employees' and customers' risk.

There's also entire market for imitation/fake products that comes from Asia - this is driven by brand consciousness in these cultures..... and now we are feeding this even more by supporting the industry that makes fakes by buying them from questionable sources. Unless you purchase stuff from reputable sources, it's hard to say if the product you bought is genuine or a fake. The fake stuff may look like the real thing but lacks the build quality of the genuine product. If I buy fake stuff from a reputable dealer, I'd be giving them hell for it and insist that they make it right.

Working in the manufacturing industry, I've come across tons of situations like this. Manufacturing rejects aren't destroyed - instead they are sold under the table to an unscrupulous dealer. Sub-quality manufacturing overruns (e.g. the client orders 20,000 pieces but the factory makes 25,000 pieces, delivers the 20,000 pieces and sells the sub-par overruns to someone else). Factories continue making an unauthorized run of products with cheaper raw materials/components after their contract expires, to make up for lost business.... the list goes on.

In short, I will never buy a carbon handlebar or anything else for that matter if I know it comes from China, Thailand, Vietnam etc unless it is of a reputable brand, AND I purchase it from a reputable dealer (i.e. new). Anything else, I'm not paying full price on, and if it's a fake... bleh.. next...

-S

P.S. JensonUSA is running a special on the EC70 Monkeybar Carbon ($69.99 I think) - that's a great price.

I dont think theres much point trying to cheap out to save a few bucks on things especially if its something like a bar or anything for that matter.
Even top shelf bars are not much cash, id buy a bar that plenty of others have put down time on and have a good reputation.
People rave about Eastern bars, i see tonnes of them on sale from 60 bucks and ive bought them myself for not much more than that, i buy top shelf Deity bars like dirty 30s for 80 bucks, thats not much money and it could save you 3000 bucks getting dental work if your cheap chinese bars fail you.
There are plenty of cheaper bars from decent companies you can buy too.
I have a few on special FUNN bars that cost me 30 bucks and they are great value for money and are being used and abused by DH riders every day.
Stick with a brand that has good quality control and a reputation to uphold, anything else is askin for trouble imo.

Go to CRC and have a look at the hundreds of bars they have, you will find heaps of bars from reputable companies at great prices, and some you will find on special, they have pictures n specs, free shipping, etc, cheers

I have been living in China for the last few months. One of the things that I learned there was that just because an item doesn't have a name on it or a name that is unfamiliar that doesn't mean its junk. One factory does not produce one brand there, one factory produces an item that is going to be branded under 50 different names. They also frequently produce more than what is ordered by a manufacturer so they can sell off the extra on the side. So there is a good chance that you're going to find a product that is made to the same standards as something more recognized and expensive but branded under a different name, I was able to get some nice headphones that way. Only problem is that its really hit or miss and there is no set of rules which dictate which brands are going to come from good factories and which ones are crap quality. Figure out how much you're willing to spend on the gamble and don't be pissed if you spend that money and get something worthless.

I just get a name brand at 60% off or more for a damn good deal and not bother with anything else.
Normally you get what you pay for anyway. Bars, stems, seatposts and pedals are the first 4 things
you don't want to go the cheap on.

Online Chinese brands that spread by word of mouth with zero engineering budget have the most to lose when they sell crappy products. If u read the Chinese carbon 29er frame thread. Ull find out they get better warranty service than "name brands", a lot better.

This isn't the 90s any more. China has already taken over the high end market.

Online Chinese brands that spread by word of mouth with zero engineering budget have the most to lose when they sell crappy products. If u read the Chinese carbon 29er frame thread. Ull find out they get better warranty service than "name brands", a lot better.

This isn't the 90s any more. China has already taken over the high end market.

sent from one of my 4 gold leafed iphone4s's

You said the magic word, "brand". A brand has a reputation to protect, as you pointed out. A Chinese company branding their own product is playing in the same league as any other name brand company. I just avoid buying products with no reputation and no one to contact if there is a problem.

I took a chance on some cheap chinese carbon fiber handlebars for my YZ supermoto, they went a HARD 5,000 miles of riding up and down stairs, jumping, dropping off loading docks, stoppies, light trail duty.....you know..... supermoto hoolagin stuff, they never had as much as a crack. Now that supermoto is in dirtbike form, I hit a step up a couple weeks ago, was easily a 10 foot drop from the highest point (not a graceful landing). I doubt you could put a carbon bar that is on your mtb thought 1/4 of the stress/load I have run on my moto, so I say take a chance on the chinese carbon bars.